Bonuses for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac “nauseous”

April 3, 2009 at 3:08 pm

School of Management Professor James Post, an expert on corporate governance and business ethics, says the $210 million in retention bonuses for employees of bailed-out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are inappropriate under the economic circumstances.

“The news of retention bonuses at Fannie and Freddie gives me the same nauseous feeling I felt when looking at the newly released unemployment numbers. At a time when another 640,000 lost their jobs in the last month, bonuses ranging from a few hundred dollars to more than a million make no sense.

“Even if we assume the F&F employees are stellar performers, a ‘bonus culture’ should not be subsidized any longer. It is a mistake to turn them into mini-entrepreneurs, playing with public money. F&F employees are – emphatically – working for the citizens of this nation.

“So, two suggestions. First, start retraining the unemployed for those soon-to-be-vacated jobs at F&F. Second, eliminate the bonus culture from any organization receiving federal money. My strong suspicion is that those employees will still look forward to receiving their weekly or monthly paychecks.”